Revisiting Catcher Statistics

We’ve already seen how the RBI isn’t as team dependent as the statheads think… twice. Well, now it’s time to revisit some catcher statistics.

The timelessness of baseball. As is the historical norm, 2008 is showing that the top teams do NOT have leaky catchers. One great measure of this is the stat ‘WP+PB/G’, which is short for Wild Pitches and Passed Balls Per Game. We’re also going to look at Catcher’s ERA and Caught Stealing %. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top two teams in every division and how their catchers are fairing:

Name —————— WP+PB/G —– Catcher’s ERA —– Caught Stealing %

Dioner Navarro ——— .181 ———– 3.59 ————— 33.3%
Jason Varitek ———- .274 ———— 3.78 ————— 21.4%
A.J. Pierzynski ———- .304 ———— 3.47 ————— 7.1%
Joe Mauer ————— .218 ———– 4.45 ————— 25.0%
Jeff Mathis (Halo) — .345 ———– 3.32 ————— 36.4%
Mike Napoli (Halo) — .599 ———– 4.67 ————— 24.1%
Kurt Suzuki ————— .167 ———– 3.15 ————— 25.9%
Chris Coste (Philly) —- .179 ———– 4.21 ————— 23.8%
Carlos Ruiz (Philly) — .272 ———– 3.81 ————— 19.4%
Matt Treanor ———- .244 ———– 4.04 ————— 27.3%
Geovany Soto ———– .401 ———– 3.61 ————— 27.3%
Yadier Molina ———– .295 ———- 3.86 ————— 34.5%
Chris Snyder ———— .350 ———– 3.75 ————— 20.8%
Russell Martin ——— .259 ———– 3.91 —————- 17.9%

*** You’ll note two Halos and two Phillies because both teams feature two catchers who have caught a similar number of innings.

So, what can we glean from these numbers? Some pretty good fucking catchers, that’s what. Now, let’s look at the few exceptions.

Let’s start by mentioning that a solid WP+PB/G number is about .300 or less. Who’s not doing so well?

– Jeff Mathis is developing slowly, but is sure to take over for Napoli. Look at the disparity in Catcher’s ERA between the two.

– Geo Soto is sporting a .942 OPS and is a top RBI man for the top offense in baseball. As a matter of fact, he has only one less RBI than team leader Aramis Ramirez. On top of this, he has an outstanding Catcher’s ERA of 3.61.

– Chris Snyder also has an outstanding Catcher’s ERA of 3.75. Plus, he’s sporting an .832 OPS at the plate.

* * *

This is the Cubs blog where you learn why baseball teams win and lose. You win with a goddamn good catcher. I don’t know why this is so difficult to grasp for the statheads who think hitting is the only quality you need in a catcher. Every good team in baseball has a good catcher. With Geo Soto and Chris Snyder, while they currently aren’t carrying the best WP+PB/G numbers, they’re both top 8 in Catcher’s ERA for catchers that qualify.

Maybe the one exception thus far this year is in Anaheim. But look at Mathis’ Catcher’s ERA! While he doesn’t ‘qualify’ so far this year, his team is much better with he catching. Look for him to take over for Napoli. And who’s that surprising team challenging the Angels for the West? The Oak… with Kurt Suzuki who leads baseball with a 3.15 Catcher’s ERA and a microscopic .167 WP+PB/G.

* * *

Can you believe the amount of grief the stathead dumbfucks gave me over this last year? You don’t fucking win with a leaky catcher, period. The only time it works is when you’ve got a bat like Mike Piazza. And what, maybe three catchers in big league history have?

Let’s be clear on one final thing… since there are so many idiots out there like Tyger at ACB. Having a good catcher doesn’t mean you’re going to win. But, if you don’t have a solid catcher, don’t plan on winning. The 2007 Cubs demonstrated that more than any team in history. They were a winning team with Koyie Hill, Geo Soto, and Rob Bowen… and a losing team with Michael Barrett, Jason Kendall, and Henry Blanco.

These idiots at ACB make up shit when they’re wrong. My favorite of their pathetic attempts at mockery was this one:

“That catcher’s amazing because of those great signals he gives the pitcher.”

I never said anything like that. I do think a problem with many catchers today is that they don’t provide a quality target for their pitchers when they set up prior to each pitch. Johjima is the best one at this. That’s why he has so few wild pitches and passed balls against him. The pitchers can actually see where the ball is supposed to go. Unfortunately, Seattle’s having a nightmare season like the Chicago Bulls just had in basketball. So far, I’m wrong about them. But, the season is still young.

* * *

We’ll revisit these catchers’ numbers at the end of the season. It’ll be my pleasure to present what excellent numbers the playoff teams’ catchers have defensively.

If I were a stathead, I’d take the time to come up with a number that combines WP+PB/G, Catcher’s ERA, and Caught Stealing % to give an overall rating to a catcher’s defense. But, I’m not a loser stathead. If one of these morons would take the time and crunch the numbers, they’d be shocked to find how many top teams have a solid defensive catcher and how few don’t. They’d be shocked by the significance of the position.

Meanwhile, god… let’s complain just a little bit more about Ryan Theriot, okay? Thank god we have the statheads to teach us how awful he is. I just hate guys with .402 OBP’s and the third most runs on the number one offense in baseball.

CCD, when are you guys going to admit how just absolutely fucking stupid you are for railing on this guy? You’re not as dumb as the others, I expect better.

But on this note, I’m going to end this article in saying what a breath of fresh air it is to have this site emerge as hick free. Because one of these dumbfuck hicks created a fictional scenario out of paranoia… and scared himself and everyone else around him… the hicks have fled… hopefully for good. They still read every word, but no longer leave their belligerent comments. Thank god. It’s all I ever wanted from the beginning.

Explore posts in the same categories: Baseball

Tags: baseball statistics, catcher's era, Chicago Cubs, wp+pb/g

You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.